YuYu Hakusho: The Power of Dreams
by Jifslayer05
Summary: A twisted man with a desire for blood. An unstoppable weapon. And the key to stopping it all lies with four comrades plus an unexpected ally. They will have to venture beyond the waking mind, to the realm of dreams. M for occasional adult themes.
1. 1: An Unexpected VisitorLucky Number 6

Hope you like this story. (Begin generic disclaimer) I do not own YYH or any affiliated entities, etc. I only own the OC's and the plotline of this story, etc., etc. (End generic disclaimer) Read and review if you feel like it.

Chapter 1: Visiting Dreams/Lucky Number 6

Kurama could not sleep. He tossed and he turned countless times in his bed. It had been an exhausting day, he had no idea why the blissful slumber was eluding him. He decided to go get a drink from the kitchen.

*_Beep beep beep*_

He opened the microwave and took out his now warm mug of tea. Sipping tentatively, he relaxed, and closed his eyes. This was a trick he did sometimes. By closing his eyes, and clearing his mind, his other senses, like hearing, smell, and detecting spirit energy, would broaden.

He heard the trees rustling in a slight breeze outside, crickets chirping, an owl hooting out his ghostly song. For no particular reason, Kurama turned his attention to the owl, trying to visualize what it was doing. It was strange how, if you listened hard enough, you could almost _feel_ it. He felt the owl. Its great eyes were scanning all around, searching for the night's meal, no doubt. He felt the great bird tense up. It had seen something. It spread its awesome wings and took off, silent yet powerful. Kurama felt like he was soaring with the bird. It was exhilarating. He felt the excitement building up, yet constrained by a wise patience that can only have been inherited from generations of hunting. His heart jumped. The owl had made a strike. It would feed well tonight.

Kurama opened his eyes, returning to the world around him, and sighed. No one in this world would ever take the time to listen to things such as that. Nature was a beautiful and wonderful thing. After finishing his tea, he felt a little more susceptible to the grasping arms of the night. They seemed to guide him back up the stairs, and to his soft, warm bed. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Outside his window, the owl landed. It was full for the night. It turned its eyes towards the sleeping boy, and _hooed_ mournfully.

_Kurama opened his eyes. He wasn't sure why he woke up again, especially after being so sleepy. _

_ "Ah, I must be in a dream" he thought to himself._

_ He had always been a lucid dreamer. He figured he should go along with the dream, so he swung his feet out of bed, and headed towards his bedroom door. He grasped the doorknob, but no sooner than that the doorknob simply melted away, turning to sand. He wasn't surprised though, he knew anything could happen in a dream really._

_ He decided to go out of the window. It seemed to be stuck, tonight, however. He gripped the bottom of the sill, and forced upward mightily. The window squeaked and squawked a little, but it opened, and abruptly turned to sand also. Outside the window stood a palm tree. He had seen them only in pictures in this world, but they reminded him of trees like the ones back in his world, except, if you weren't careful, they might try to eat you._

_ He climbed out of the window and started walking. He heard seagulls and the unmistakable sounds of the ocean nearby. He was in what was almost a forest of palms. He headed towards the sound of the gulls, and the smell of the ocean. When he got there he noticed he was not alone._

_ A boy sat on some rocks nearby. Kurama approached him. He was tall, his hair maybe a little shorter than Kurama's, and kind of sandy blonde. The boy looked up. He had sharp eyes. The irises were blue on the outside but green on the inside. _

_ "Hello, I don't usually have visitors in my dreams. What is your name?" _

_ Kurama started slightly. Was he not in his own dream? Had he unconsciously travelled to this boy's mind? He replied, "My name is Shuchi Minamino. I'm terribly sorry if I am intruding."_

_ "Oh, no, it's fine, it's nice to have visitors. My name is Kyle by the way, Kyle Greene."_

_ "It is nice to meet you, Kyle. Once again I am sorry to have intruded. I think I will take my leave now, I need to assure that I am rested for tomorrow.'_

_ "Okay, that's fine" the boy smiled. "Maybe I'll see you again some night."_

_ "Maybe" Kurama replied, and turned to walk back to where his room used to be. It was all intact again, and he went through his window, and lay back down in his bed, and finished his night peacefully._

The school bell rang harshly. Yusuke Urameshi started in surprise. Surprisingly enough, he had been asleep. Students around him packed up their various belongings, ready to return home for another night. He ran his hand through his dark hair and yawned. He stretched, and walked out into the hall.

"HEY, URAMESHI, WAIT UP!" A grating, throaty yell came from behind him. Coming up behind him, in a light blue school uniform, and a fiery Duck's Ass that would make even the King step back and say "Whoa", was Kazuma Kuwabara.

"Man Urameshi, I'm so glad it's the weekend. What do you wanna do, huh? Oh yeah and where's Keiko?"

"Oh, hey Kuwabara. She went to study with some friends."

They walked out of the school and down the street.

"Actually, I have to see toddler-face about something. You should come along. But hey, don't look now; I think someone is following us. I had a feeling I was being watched today. Follow me down here."

They turned down an alley. A shadow fell over them and a voice sounded.

"Stop right there, Yusuke Urameshi."

The boys turned around. A middle-aged man stood in the entrance to the alley, blocking the way out. Well, at least he _appeared_ to be a middle-aged man. Kuwabara, with his high reiki awareness, saw right through the disguise.

It was a demon. Two small horns sprouted from its head, two red eyes stared crazily at them. The demon had a small bloodstain on its mouth.

"Careful Urameshi" Kuwabara cautioned, "I think whatever that is _ate _that guy and is wearing his body like a suit." He called out, "What do you want, freak? I think you took a wrong turn or somethin'!"

"Hehehe, why so hostile? I simply, have a message for you gentlemen..." the demon snickered…and attacked!

It rushed forward, faster than normal eyes could follow. Yusuke was anything but normal, however. He leaped towards the attacker, holding his arm out. The demon's triumphant smile met Yusuke's outstretched arm in a classic clothesline, flooring the creature and leaving it gasping for breath. It stood and turned around, enraged.

_WHAM_

Kuwabara followed up with a massive haymaker, straight to the face. The demon flew backwards, crashing into the wall. Whatever fight it had in it to begin with was gone now. Yusuke crouched down and lifted the dazed monster by its hair.

"Alright asshole, tell us who sent you, and maybe we'll let you live!" he spat out.

"M-m,mercy-please!" it gasped. "I don't know who sent me, t-they paid me anonymously! I swear! Please let me live!"

Yusuke spat in disgust, and threw the demon back down.

"Alright Kuwabara, he's telling the truth. Let's get out of here." He turned back to the demon.

"Listen to me, if we even think you're trying to follow us, its game over pal." He made a gun with his hand, and mimed a shooting motion.

"Bang."

His footsteps echoed down the long hallway. He hated being in places like this, they always smelled horrible. Lowly demons were carrying supplies down the hall. They turned to see who else was there, and froze out of fear. They quickly looked for an alternate route to take. The master was known not to like being held up, and they weren't going to take any chances. He arrived at his destination: a set of red double-doors.

Screams, horrible screams, sounded off in the distance. He ignored them and walked in. A man was standing over a bed. The man's name was Shigure, a master demon surgeon. In the bed was a girl, unconscious. The paper over her bed said one word: "Roku". The surgeon turned around and bowed to the master. As he rose, the master saw a horrible gleaming pride in his eyes.

"I take it…this one was successful?"

"Yes, master, the procedure went flawlessly this time. The last five were, simply not the right type of human. I do find it interesting that this female was our best choice, though. I had always assumed it would be some burly human male that would be most receptive." Shigure stated pensively

"Hmm, indeed. Now, explain to me once again exactly what this girl, Roku, can do now?"

Shigure excitedly enlightened the master, "The pinnacle of all my works has been implanted in her. She is now essentially a reiki reservoir, able to absorb and collect spirit energy. It's so beautifully simple! Plus, while she has been under the spell, we have been reaching her mind psychically, and almost "programming" her how to fight and user her spirit energy. She'll be the perfect weapon."

The master grinned. It was a very frightening sight. She would be perfect for his plan. First, she could tie up some loose ends he had lying around, but then, she could go after her target: those four horribly inconvenient boys. She would be unstoppable.

Shigure continued, "Why don't you come with me, master, she will be awake soon. It won't be a nice sight. As successful as the operation was, she will still be in a tremendous amount of pain. We shall watch remotely as she begins her first test."

The master nodded, and they walked out, leaving the sleeping girl.

_OH GOD IT HURTS_

The first thoughts the girl had upon awakening were not pleasant. The haze and fog that clouded her mind were dashed away by the wind that was the immense pain she felt. She sat up and screamed. Her entire body was on fire, fire that coursed around like water, flowing endlessly from one side of her body to the other. The fire was trying to tear her apart, trying to escape. She screamed even louder and began to claw at herself, ripping her sheets, tearing her skin, bringing blood out.

_OH GOD OH GOD IT HURTS SO BAD PLEASE MAKE IT STOP PLEASE PLEASE _

She was screaming her thoughts aloud now, screaming and crying. The pain would not go away. In her agony, she rolled out of the bed onto the floor. The tile of the floor was cold. It brought her back to her senses a little. She had to expel that raging fire in her body or it would tear her apart. She managed to stand, thought the efforts were excruciating. She found that if she focused on the raging force in her body, it seemed to respond. She focused will all the might she had remaining, and slowly but surely, the horrible pain subsided, the force stopped flowing so freely. Crying out of sweet relief now, she channeled it around her body experimentally, then made the force go into her hands. Holding her hands up, she forced with everything she could muster. Nothing happened for a second, but then, the energy seemed to explode out of her. All she saw was an overwhelming green light erupt from her body.

An assistant opened the door, trying to figure out where all the screaming was coming from. The last thing he saw was a wave of energy coming for him.

"What is all this rack-AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHH-"

The wave subsided. Nothing remained of the assistant. The walls were burned and smoking, and the door had simply been blown off its hinges.

The girl slumped back on the bed and collapsed out of exhaustion.

The master was impressed. And that didn't happen often.

"My, my, Shigure, that was simply amazing. A beautiful wave of pure spirit energy, and so much of it! Now she can simply go absorb every bit of it that she lost?"

Shigure looked extremely smug and satisfied.

"Yes, master, plus she will regenerate some of her own. There is simply no limit to what she can do. This is the peak of my achievements. Once this technique is perfected, we can turn out more and more of these, augmented, creations. Roku is the first of many."

And, as the master said, she was simply, unstoppable.


	2. 2: PreviewMessenger

NFTA: I just now realized that the live version of chapter 1 featured no form of break when the scene transitions. I put them in on the word processor, and am not sure why they didn't show up. I'll try to make sure it works properly and I apologize if it inconvenienced anyone. Also, to anyone who decided to peruse this, I am sorry for the long time between updates.

**Chapter 2: **

_Kurama's eyes opened. He looked around and realized he was in a dream. His room, instead of being dark, was lit up, and, instead of having electric lights, there were candles on his desk. Outside the windows, snow swirled and danced about, a magical ballet of wonder. Of course, it was April, and he lived in a coastal depression, so the snow was out of place. It was Friday night, and he could sleep in tomorrow, so Kurama decided to play around in the dream some. He rose out of bed and walked to the window. _

_As he opened it, he began to hear music, a mixture of strings and a harp, playing a spine-tingling melody, simple but serious. It made him feel lonely: the perfect winter music. The window began to dissolve into snow as a wind whipped through, followed by the rest of the room, and suddenly he was standing in a forest, lit by silent, ghostly moonlight. He wasn't sure what to do, so he began to walk through the snow. The wind whipped up a swirling blizzard, and he began to falter from its force. _

_But suddenly, ahead, he saw a light. Kurama was certain it had not been there before, but, in dreams things often happen that way. He forced his way through the snow towards the glow. As he approached, the glow resolved into a cozy cabin. Already feeling the imaginary warmth, he ran the last stretch and opened the door. It creaked open and inside he tumbled, thankful to be out of the snow._

"_Erm…hello again. It's Suichi, right?"_

_Kurama started and turned towards the voice. It was the boy from the other night, Kyle. So, he had travelled to this boy's dream again._

"_Yes, Suichi, and you are Kyle?"_

"_Yep. I'm guessing it's a bit cold outside?"_

"_Indeed."_

"_Ah hell come on, pull up a chair next to the fire. I'll get you some tea."_

_Kurama needed no further invite. He pulled a wooden chair up to the fire and basked in the radiant heat. Kyle came back with a steaming mug and handed it over. Kurama sipped appreciatively, it was a strong black tea, cut with a bit of sugar._

"_Well, Kyle, I will cut the ice by saying, I don't think it's a coincidence that I have visited your dreams twice, not under my own power. You must have called me here."_

_He left out that it takes a great amount of spirit energy, and control, to call others to one's dreams._

"_I'm not quite sure why you're here actually. I'm not sure what you mean about calling you. I haven't done anything like that, well, consciously. But, my dreams haven't been normal lately."_

"_I see. Well, tell me Kyle, where are you located at?"_

"_Ha, well, right now I'm on a plane, headed to Japan, some city somewhere around Tokyo."_

"_Oh..really? Any idea what city it is?"_

"_No, sorry, I can never remember the name. But, I know I'm going to be joining, Sarayashiki Junior High?"_

_Kurama laughed, "Well, Kyle, this is definitely no coincidence, that is where I attend school."_

"_Huh, how about that." Kyle stared at the fire. His face seemed darker than before._

"_Hey, listen, Suichi, you may want to go."_

"_What for? I'm enjoying this night of surprises."_

"_Yeah, me too, but, it's just that, they're coming."_

"_Who is coming?", but Kurama knew the answer before he finished. He could feel the foul youki from whatever it was drawing near._

"_Oh man, I'm sorry, I thought I had longer. I can hold them off if you want to get away."_

_Kurama's gaze narrowed dangerously, "Why I shall do no such thing Kyle. Demons that attack people during dreams are lower than low, they anger me greatly. I shall fight them." He felt in his hair and pulled out a rose. With a swell of energy, he swept it to the side, and a verdant whip emerged in his hand, covered in thorns. Rose petals erupted from him, and a beautiful fragrance filled the room._

"_Wow, that's pretty cool! That thing looks dangerous."_

"_Yes, I suppose it is "cool", Kurama chuckled in spite of himself, "but, Kyle, do you have anything to defend yourself with? This isn't just a dream now, these demons are real, and vicious."_

"_Yeah, I can handle it", Kyle stood up, and a cool wind flowed around him. Kurama felt a huge burst of energy erupt, but it was not normal spirit energy, it was too pure. Kyle was now sporting a pair of white, beautiful wings on his back._

"_Alright, Suichi, let's go."_

"_Okay Kyle, but you can call me Kurama."_

_A furious screeching came from outside, and the logs of the cabin began to rattle. The two boys stood together, ready to fight._

Koenma snorted imperiously at Yusuke and Kuwabara after they related their story of the mysterious attacker, "Well, okay then, what was his message?"

The two boys stared.

"Er, what do ya mean?" Kuwabara asked.

Koenma placed his face in the palm of his hand. Why did he even bother sometimes?

"He said he was a messenger. Messengers usually have MESSAGES TO GIVE! Did you really just beat the tar out of him without finding out why he was there?"

Yusuke answered, "Um, whoops, yeah, you said it just about right."

"Well, Yusuke, for some reason I'm not all that surprised, but I think I know what it may have been about regardless. Come with me."

They moved into his office. Koenma pressed a button on his desk and the wall slid open on the opposite wall, revealing a screen.

"Ogre, play the tape."

After a grumble from his office assistant, the screen flickered to life. On it was a girl, standing in a field.

"You called us in here for this, shorty?" Yusuke asked.

"Just keep watching, you bumbling oaf."

A large demon walked into the clearing, and faced the girl. Without warning he charged forward. The girl did nothing, then, charged forward herself. She jumped up and began beating the living hell out of the unfortunate attacker. Blow after blow rained in on his head and torso, faster and faster. The girl landed a tremendous punch to his stomach, winding him and driving him down to his knees. She jumped over his head, behind his back. The trio of viewers saw nothing for a second, but then, a blue rod of energy, shaped like a sword, exited his stomach. His intestines flew out everywhere from the force of the impalement. He screeched out a horrible dying scream, then fell over on the pile of his own guts. The girl stood behind him, the blue energy engulfing her right arm. It vanished, and she walked off without saying a word.

"HOLY FREAKING CRAP she beat the shit out of that guy!" Yusuke yelled, "Did you SEE that explosion of guts?"

Kuwabara simply looked pale, and had to run out into the hall.

"This may be your next opponent, Yusuke", Koenma stated gravely. "We know nothing about her, besides that she works for a human turned-demon. He's relatively new on the scene, but he's made quite a name for himself in human/demon artifact trafficking, and various other dangerous exploits."

"Dangerous exploits?" Yusuke retorted, "She just made that guy take a bath in his own body parts! And where the hell do we come into this anyway? Does this girl or this mysterious guy have a name?"

Koenma sighed, rubbing his face in his hand. So much to explain. Was it even worth it now? Or was it simply too late? Kuwabara shuffled back in, his complexion by now a more normal color.

"Alright you two, listen up! We have no name on the man. Everyone refers to him by generic monikers like "The boss". They call this girl Roku. She is a human, but she has been, altered somehow, obviously. We have no idea what has been done, to give her such power. But we do know the doctor, Shigure has been employed for some time by our newest kingpin-"

"Hey wait", Kuwabara interjected, "Why would someone name their kid "six"? That's a pretty stupid name."

Koenma didn't bother to reprimand him, there was no time.

"She's called "six" because more than likely, she's the sixth person they've tried whatever this procedure is on. It's a nickname, and that's not what is important right now!" he finished in his trademark yell.

"Alright, squirt, what is it then?" The seriousness of what he had seen was causing Yusuke to feel extremely uncomfortable.

Koenma took a deep breath, leveling his voice.

"We believe she's been dispatched to take you out, Yusuke. And not just you, but your friends, and quite possible everyone you care for."


	3. 3: Setbacks

**Chapter 3:**

Kurama started, his slumber dashed away by the incessant jingling of his communicator's contact jingle. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and flipped open the communicator. Koenma's voice rang out:

_"Kurama, I need you here NOW! No, twenty minutes ago! Aw shoot, I don't know if all the time in the world could help us now, just COME ON!"_

Kurama held the device away from his ear until the vocal tsunami subsided, then replied, "Yes, I will be there shortly. However, I have some strange events to report. I believe there are on-"

_"I DON'T CARE WHAT THERE MIGHT BE! WHAT I HAVE ON MY PLATE RIGHT NOW BEATS ANYTHING YOU COULD COME UP WITH! THERE'S JUST NO TIME! Forget coming here, I'm sending Botan, it'll be quicker. Pack up some stuff. You'll be staying here temporarily. Good bye!"_

_ Click_

Just like that, Koenma was gone, and Kurama was almost dumbfounded. Something must be terribly wrong. Time to earn his keep, and besides, maybe this assignment would finally get him off the hook. He quickly threw his clothes on and stuffed a few essentials into his school book bag.

And at that point he felt it. Something was downstairs.

Something big...and powerful...

_This must be what he was so worried about, _Kurama mused to himself.

No point in running away from this one. Kurama slowly opened his bedroom door and walked down the stairs. A girl was standing in his doorway. He was taken aback. Could he have been fooled? His eyes darted back and forth, trying to piece the situation together.

"...Youko Kurama?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes...I am Kurama", his gaze narrowed. What did this girl want? Something wasn't right.

She lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"Tell me why you are here, and how you know wh-"

He didn't get a chance to finish as a beam of shining spirit energy erupted from her body towards him. Kurama was engulfed by the spiritual deluge and slammed backwards, breaking through the drywall. He struggled back up, his eyes dangerously cold.

"Nice attack, it caught me off guard I will admit."

From his hair he pulled a rose, glowing and beautiful. A soft fragrance filled the room. With a flick of his hand, the rose elongated into his deadly, thorned whip. He wasted no time in launching a relentless barrage of lashes.

The girl had predicted this. Her arms began to glow blue, and spirit energy surrounded them in the shape of blades. She threw herself at Kurama's whirling whip, blocking strike after strike and adding her own attacks into the midst. They danced that way for what seemed like hours to Kurama, a fiery jig back and forth where one misstep meant the end. Kurama stopped attacking, only blocking while he searched for some way to gain the upper hand. She moved with an un-human like speed and precision. Kurama sensed what was going on inside her mind. She didn't think about how she was fighting, or what was going to happen next; she just _fought_. Someone had been inside her mind, programming her like one might program a machine.

The girl sensed a lull in his actions, and took her chance. One of the reiki blades dissipated, and she launched that fist towards Kurama, spirit energy propelling the hand to impact cruelly with his nose. Everything seemed to move in slow motion at that point. She heard a crack, and watched his eyes glaze over as he flew backwards with the force of the punch. She focused on the pure, beautiful energy she had been collecting from him and reformed the blade around her arm. Whirling around, she followed his trajectory, slashing him once! Twice! The attacks landed with such speed that he could not defend himself. She stopped, floating in the air as he continued backwards.

_"SHINING VORTEX SLICER!"_

She began to spin in circles, slowly at first, but quickly building up to hurricane-force speeds, sending arc after razor-sharp arc of spirit energy flying at the defenseless Kurama. Blood spilled and flew from his battered body as he finally impacted with a sofa, breaking under the force of his impact. He could only lay there and pant harshly, trying not to lose consciousness. The girl halted, watching him groan and bleed mournfully. He returned her gaze, his eyes full of pain but no sign of defeat. He gasped.

"L-listen...I know what has b..been done to you. We can...h...help..."

His strength gave out, and he could only lay there, coughing up blood pitifully.

She pondered something for a moment, before closing her eyes to focus inward. With a yell, she let out a massive wave of energy. It spread slowly, consuming and destroying the house in its advance. When the expanding force hit the kitchen, the gas range sparked, and exploded. The wave dissipated, and she stared at the inferno that sprang up, watching it begin its consumption of the small house, before she disappeared out the still-open door.

Kurama looked up, his vision fading. The house burned like a wildfire, but he had not the strength to move. He heard a voice, far off in the distance.

_"Kurama? KURAMA? O..Oh no! H-hang on! We're getting out of here!"_

The peaceful darkness crept up, and he gave himself over to it.

* * *

Kyle slowly exited the plane, savoring the chance to stretch his legs walking across the pavement. He headed for the terminal, not wanting to waste any time. To him, it wasn't just walking away from the plane, or flying away from his home for that matter. To Kyle, it had been getting away from the dark thoughts that threatened to encompass him, and leaving them behind, going forward to start the next section of his life.

_That's how she would have wanted me to feel..._

He shook off those ever-pleasant yet sad memories before they could emerge from the waters of his mind. As he entered the terminal, he saw his bags on the conveyor to his right. Picking them up, he also spotted the man who matched the picture in his knapsack. He was older, his hair thinning on top and graying all over, but his eyes were sharp, the eyes of an observer, a studier of things. The man spotted him and walked forward, offering his hand warmly.

"Kyle Greene, good to see you, it has been far too long!"

He took the offered hand, gazing into the face of his mother's trusted friend and colleague.

"It's nice to see you too, Dr. Takemori. Thank you for being here to help me take care of things."

"It was the least I could do. I know no words can ever possibly mean enough, but for what it is worth, I am very sorry about your mother's passing. She was a dear friend, and back when we both worked in the GeniSys labs, all she would ever speak of was how proud she was of you. Ha, she practically made me swear to look after you if anything ever happened to her. But listen to me chatter. This rambling, I'm sure, is doing nothing to help you feel better. Let's go, we have a bit of a car ride ahead of us, plus all this damned paperwork to go through."

Kyle wanted desperately to be alone at that moment. But he followed the man, trusting him as his mom did. He could sleep on the ride there. He wasn't sure why, but Kyle felt himself growing hopeful that he might see Suichi again, through a dream. He really needed a friend.

* * *

"Will ya just give us a straight answer, you loon?" Yusuke was losing patience with this reikai doctor Koenma had brought in. "I don't care if you don't know anything for sure, just tell us what you're thinking at least!" He broke his eye contact, seething as he looked upon the mess that was left of his friend.

Kurama was in a sad state. His luxurious long, red hair was scorched and seemed dull in color. Cuts, burns and bruises covered his arms and torso. His soft face hung still in a state of lifeless suspension, and his breathing was extremely shallow.

The doctor sighed, people never understood, they just wanted to know everything, right then.

"What I'm trying to say is that we don't know if he'll make it. It all depends on whether he survives these initial injuries or not. If he does, he should be fine. But right now there's no way to know. We've done all we can. He most likely would have died already had it not been for the quick thinking of your friend. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I must be going. I will be back later. Let's see how much longer his luck holds."

Yusuke resisted the urge to slug the doctor (Keiko had really been getting on his ass about his temper lately. She would find out. She always found out), and ran his hands through his hair instead. Kuwabara simply sat in the corner, lost in thought. The doctor left, and as Koenma was still debriefing Botan on the matter, it was just them for the moment. Three friends, one stuck in that place between the living and the dead, fighting his way back to the surface.

"Come on, Kurama, you can't give up on us right now..."

* * *

Kyle was pleasantly surprised by his first few days at Sarayashiki Junior High. Although he felt alienated from the other students, that didn't really matter to him. He was used to being alone. Besides, one of his teachers and Dr. Takemori made sure to keep up with him, and he knew he would have someone to contact if needed.

He had made one friend already, and that was enough for him. In fact, he was standing outside, waiting for her now. She was American, like him, and his age, too. They were planning on spending the afternoon studying at his place, a small flat that his mother had left behind money to buy and pay for, at least for the moment while he finished school.

Kyle couldn't help but wonder where Suichi was, though. After they repelled the onslaught of the foul demons invading his dream, Suichi had expressed such an earnest excitement in wanting to meet Kyle in person. Apparently, they had a lot to talk about.

"Hey, Kyle, you ready?" a voice called out to him. He turned in its direction and saw a young girl (no, she was a young woman, as his mom probably would have said to him) walking his way and waving. Her almost shoulder-length brown hair blew backwards in the slight afternoon breeze, and he could almost make out her green eyes from where he was standing. He smiled and waved back, matching her stride as she caught up to him, and they began to walk home.

* * *

She had not been one to give herself over to emotions, at least not after her operation (she wasn't sure about before, but the master assured her that her previous life was irrelevant), but she could not help but to feel a sense of triumph at how easy this assignment had been so far. She mentally compared Kyle with her internal checklist she had memorized:

Blue-green eyes? _Check._

Shaggy, blonde hair? _Check._

Average frame and build; around five feet and eleven inches; wearing a pair of somewhat road-worn green All-Stars? _Check, check, and check._

"Hey, Anna, how are you?" he asked.

_Anna, why did I pick that name when he asked for one? IT was just the first one to pop up I guess._

And of course that energy, that strange power emanating from him. It was so pure to her, and so foreign. Probably why the master had him targeted. Her job was to get close to him, find out some info, and eventually, subdue and bring him in. How clichéd, she mentally sighed. She had been getting bored lately with her assignments. Bored, and, well, other things.

Remorseful, for one. After decimating Youko, she'd had the strangest urge, to run over, and hold him and cry. It vanished just as fast as it came, but she couldn't get that image out of her head. Dangerous thoughts. She was a machine. Pure focus and precision, and she needed to stay that way.

By now they had reached Kyle's place. It was a nice little four-room flat. Living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Much more of a western-style place. None of the sliding doors, although the table was low down to the floor. He offered to make some food, and she accepted.

_Maybe this won't take too long, _she thought to herself.

And before she knew it, hours had passed. There was an almost unreal difference with Kyle when he was in a secure place, and in his comfort zone. He joked and joshed about once or twice a second, it felt like, and he had her laughing like she never had before (at least, not that she could remember). Something seemed to break down inside of her, and her composure slipped bit by bit until it finally took a detour out the window. They laughed and ate and chatted about everything. Some biology was even studied. Kyle turned out to be a captivating lecturer, explaining random functions of hormones and enzymes in the human body. The evening finally began to wind down. They retired to the sofa, watching game shows since nothing else worthwhile seemed to be on. She was just getting drowsy, and slightly leaning her head on his shoulder when the lightning bolt struck inside her mind.

A horrible wave of pain, pure sickening pain rolled over her. She instinctively curled up into a ball and fell off the couch, whimpering, as the fire inside her began to swell, and grow.

Kyle was down beside her in a flash, his face a picture of horrified concern.

"A-anna? Anna? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

She could only stare back pitifully, it simply hurt too much to speak. She sobbed, rolling around, digging and ripping at herself with her hands as the pain, which felt ten times worse than the one she had experienced upon waking after the surgery, wracked her body with spasms.

_"Please make it stop oh god why won't it stop PLEASE HELP MAKE IT STOP!" _she screeched out, to no one in particular.

Kyle had no idea what to do, he could not think of a reason for what could be causing so much extreme spiking pain. As her sobs and cries intensified, he felt like his soul was being slowly ripped out of him, and he did the only thing he could think of.

He lunged forward, grabbing her tightly in an embrace, pulling her head into his neck while she struggled. He held her as tight as he possibly could, willing with everything he had that whatever she was feeling leave.

For Anna, something magical happened. Slowly, ever so slowly, the pain calmed and quelled and slowly began to go away. It was a miracle, she would rather die than hurt that bad ever again. She could only lay there, sobbing exhaustedly into Kyle's shoulder. After a while, she looked up at him, into his soft eyes, so worried even now. She felt so many strange emotions flowing, unfamiliar ones, alien ones. She leaned up, forcing her lips onto his.

He tensed slightly, out of surprise more than anything, but relaxed and returned the kiss. She hung onto him with a death grip, not wanting to lose any space between them, not knowing why but wanting more and more from him. Her hands grasped and pulled at his back, trying to force his body onto hers as much as possible. She was a slave to the emotions she worked so hard to banish now, and she gave herself over to them. He pulled off his shirt, and then hers, tossing them aside as Anna ground her hips deliciously into his. She unhooked her bra, exposing her breasts and moaning lustily as he gently massaged one, both of them still locked in an ever-more passionate kiss. He tenderly lifted her up and carried her to his room as she whispered in his ear, driving him crazy.

"Ohh, fuck, come on Kyle, don't keep me waiting, not for this..."

He lowered her down to the bed softly and climbed over top of her as they continued to kiss slowly, deeply. They stared into each other's eyes as they succumbed to the feelings raging around inside them, and Kyle took her, took everything she had to offer, and more.

* * *

NFTA: Hi guys, sorry if the random sex scene seemed, well, out of place, or irrelevant or whatever. It's just how I pictured things working out in my mind. Also, sorry again for the late late update. College has a bad habit of taking your recreation time and murdering it ._. as always reviews/criticism/unabounding praise are all appreciated greatly.


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